XLR Industries Carbon Chassis Review

xlr-logo-blackRifle chassis systems are a great addition for a tactical rifle shooter. No two shooters are exactly alike and a chassis system allows a shooter to easily fit the rifle to their body. A rifle that fits better is more comfortable to shoot. Chassis systems are not without their drawbacks. Most add a good deal of weight to the rifle. This is what first attracted me to the XLR Industries Carbon Chassis.

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The XLR Carbon Chassis builds on the design of the XLR Evolution Chassis we reviewed several years ago. The most notable change is the addition of a carbon fiber hand guard replacing the Evolution’s aluminum piece. The carbon hand guard has an octagonal cross-section and is lined with cooling vents. The vents serve a dual purpose. They allow air to circulate around the barrel, but also act as mounting points for picatinny rail sections. Rail sections can be mounted on any of the eight flats around the hand guard tube. The tube has a single sling swivel at the six o’clock position to allow for mounting a Harris type bipod or sling. The stud can be replaced with a picatinny rail if you would rather use a Atlas type QD bipod.

XLRCarbonChassis_20121214_60D_015_1080The hand guard is capped on both ends with aluminum fittings. The cooling holes are radiused and no sharp edges are evident. The hand guard is attached to the receiver block with a screw and lug arrangement. This arrangement allows for a strong joint, but still allows the hand guard to be removed without disturbing the receiver. You can remove the tube for maintenance or configuration changes without loosing the rifle’s zero. XLR offers both 12″ and 15.5″ configurations. The 12″ tube felt perfect with our 20″ barrel.

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XLRCarbonChassis_20121008_60D_056_1080The receiver block is available inleted for Remington 700 short and long actions as well as Savage short actions. The sides of the receiver feature deep lightening cuts. Not only does this remove a considerable amount of weight, it adds a very attractive look.

The XLR Carbon Chassis accepts AICS magazines. Five round magazines seem perfect for the lightweight nature of the system, but ten round magazines will fit without extending below the pistol grip. The magazine release is familiar to most AICS type systems and extends just far enough to be easily disengaged.

XLRCarbonChassis_20121008_60D_039_1080The XLR Carbon Chassis has an ample trigger guard that easily accepts gloved fingers. The bottom is slotted making trigger adjustments easy.

XLR didn’t skimp on pistol grips. Just as on the Evolution chassis the Carbon comes with the Ergo Tactical Deluxe grip. This grip has ample palm swells aiding the shooter in getting a consistent hand position. The over molded rubber has a grippy, pebbled texture.

The most functional aspect of the XLR Carbon chassis is the fully adjustable buttstock. Our chassis came equipped with the XLR Tactical buttstock. The Tactical Buttstock option is designed to be ambidextrous and snag free. It has a sweeping bottom with a cutout that makes for a great support hand hold. The comb is height adjustable and comfortable from the left or right side. The entire stock assembly can be canted to one side or the other. I don’t generally recommend doing this if the stock will be shot from the left and right alternately. The buttpad is a comfortable rubber that absorbs recoil nicely. The buttpad height can be adjusted by two screws hidden underneath the pad. The Tactical stock is already drilled and tapped for an optional picatinny rail if you choose to use a monopod with the chassis. A folding hinge option is available.

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If none of the XLR buttstock assemblies suit your fancy, the XLR Carbon Chassis will accept standard AR15 buttstocks. Since there is no lower recess in the back of the receiver block, stocks like the A2 or Magpul PRS will not fit without extensive modification. Most adjustable type stocks will fit, but the comb height must be taken into account. A comb riser will definitely be required for most AR type adjustable stocks.

Overall the fit and finish of the XLR Carbon Chassis is excellent. There was a considerable amount of care that went into the design. It would make a great addition for a shooter who wants a light weight, handy rifle that can be adjusted to fit their individual shape.

The XLR Carbon Chassis is available at a base price of $900. It is not currently on the XLR Industries website. You can get purchasing details by contacting XLR Industries directly.

Weight: 3lbs 12oz (12″ Handguard, no rails)
Total Rifle Weight as Tested: 11lbs 13oz  (including optics, bipod and rails)

22 thoughts on “XLR Industries Carbon Chassis Review”

  1. Why not shoot it more… show us the results… group location change with different stresses on bipod… optic interface… how high is the bore/reticule center… mount for night vision/thermo (holes for Picatinny) already on hand guard or must that be done custom? … scope & night vision compatibility easily achieved.

    I am setting-up a light weight to go with my heavy Ashbury (APO)/Remington set-up. Your evaluation does not help much. Did not see much more than sales literature provides.

    I’m actually in the market and your evaluation did not help the decision making process much! I still need more INFO. Still don’t know which: the APO Hunter chassis, the XLR Carbon chassis, or leave the light original stock on it. Big decision.

    I’d like to see the results with the best Harris and the Atlas.

    With the APO I use only 10 round MAGs… how do those MAGs work in the XLR Carbon?

    I am interested in this stock but I need to know about colors, see it with ten round MAG, left hand version availability, does it cause an improvement over the original Remington stock… can thicker custom lugs be used?

    Any chance of you doing a more complete test of this stock?

    John

      1. Hi John is it possible to purchase a xlr chassis system from you I live in uk England with regards chris preston

        1. I’m sorry BUT I gave it away last month. Not one of my fellows in F-Class was interested in it for ANY price so I gave it to a guy new to the sport who was building a heavier back-up rifle. He got it together and found he could not make weight for F-Class TR. The stock is the heaviest stock available for Remingtons. I’m pretty sure he has given-up on it too. I’ll see if he is willing to give it back and if so I’ll give it to you. I have about $2400 in that stock! PLEASE LISTEN: The APO XLR chassis MOD 0 system does not do one thing for you that proper bedding does not do… I removed the APO stock and put the original Remington stock and saw improvement over the APO… not even the manufacturer (APO) would take the stock system back. Biggest problem with the APO is mounting the scope. It requires such high mounts that only the NIGHTFORCE one piece light weight set-up is tall enough for a NIGHTFORCE NXS scope. Then you have to jack-up the cheek piece really high. The center of the scope is well over three inches above the center line of the barrel. I ended-up using best quality rings and base and dropped the scope allot which makes the rifle much more comfortable to shoot. I did have to add a tunnel- type cheek piece to the HS PRECISION stock that came on the Remington 700 PSS. I would think long and hard before putting one of the APO stocks on your rifle. Fore end is too narrow to use with a sling and the bolt holes/threads will not support a bipod. Could not steady my bipod so I checked it out… the fore end where the bipod was attached had stripped-out. Spent quite a bit to reinforce the forearm and put larger diameter bolt hole to be able to mount any kind of bipod… I tried several. The arrangement we came-up with was rather ingenious and did not change the appearance of the stock. APO would not talk to me about it. NOW I notice that they have a much improved F-CLASS TR stock in their line BUT the stock is so heavy that you could not have a very heavy/long barrel. All the time and money I invested in that stock was a complete waste. After explaining my ordeal to some fellow competitors over pizza after a big match the guys kinda laughed at me… saying something like:”…there are reasons that non of us are using that stock!” Be careful friend before you go spending much money on your project… again the conventional stocks used by F-CLASS TR guys work just fine and are considerably cheaper and lighter than the APO stocks!

  2. Thanks. You’ve just made my decision 33% more challenging. How about a comparison between the AICS, Whiskey 3 and the XLR? I am looking for a chassis for my Remington 700 in .308. Thanks.

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  4. Thank you very much! I have an order in-process with XLR (and had never heard of their “Carbon Chassis” Series before moments ago. I just revised my order with Kyle from the Evolution Series – based on your thorough reviews (here and on YouTube!)

  5. ya baby, I want one! it’ll turn my 7mm mag into a sexy bitch to hold and fondle! Is there any negative about this sexy thing???

  6. What is the adjustment tolerance on the buttstock in regard to its distance from the cheek rest? The standard evolution chassis and extreme evolution chassis seem to have a lot of travel, but the tactical evolution chassis just looks wicked! However, I can’t justify choosing aesthetics if it lacks versatility in fine-tuning how the system fits into (what I call, anyway) my “shoulder pocket,” if that makes sense?

  7. John, this is an excellent review. Thank you very much. My APO Saber Tech is one of those boat anchors you mentioned. My next project will have the XLR Carbon Fiber stock. I’m using the Saber Tech Remington for F-Class TR matches BUT it is not really perfect for the job. I think the XLR will work better. and still be practical for a “field” gun.

  8. I am presently building a very similar rifle. I noticed two different scope mounts during video, wondering if you could expand on these?

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